Muslim Player Thrives With Nourished Spirit by Neil MacFarquhar (NYT)

Old, but whatever.

Link.

Highlights:

“I have had some of my best games during Ramadan,” [Hamza]Abdullah [of the Denver Broncos], a 24-year-old safety, said in an interview. “I got my first and only interception while I was fasting.”

It does not work for everyone. His teammate Ryan Harris, 22, a rookie offensive tackle from Notre Dame, lasted only six days, saying he decided to break the fast between a heavy workout in the morning, when he repeatedly bench-pressed about 275 pounds, and an afternoon practice.

“When your stomach is full, you get tired and lazy and too relaxed,” said [Hakeem] Olajuwon, who retired from the Houston Rockets in 2002. “You get tremendous energy from fasting. Everything is crisp. When your stomach is empty, you get a lot of oxygen and you can breathe.”

Abdullah credits the whole idea of Ramadan with helping push into the background all the distractions from daily life that might interfere with his concentration while playing. “You are focused on the things that matter in your life,” he said. “You are not worried about extracurricular activities with the guys that you usually get caught up in. I don’t hang out at all hours of the night, I don’t listen to music and play video games.”

The hardest parts of the day come during lunch time, he said, when he heads to the locker room to hang out while everyone else is in the cafeteria eating, and between afternoon practice or a game and sunset. To help make the time pass, Abdullah sits in a cool tub in one of the therapy rooms or goes home early to play with his young daughter.

Abdullah was born into a Muslim family, as was Olajuwon, but Harris converted in the eighth grade, drawn to the humility that is a key tenet of the faith, he said.

Islam teaches that if you cannot fast for some reason, you can either try to make it up some other time or pay for food for the hungry. Abdullah pointed out that Harris has been helping to support meals at a Denver homeless shelter.

“When you fast, you feel a sense of being part of a community, you are part of something bigger than yourself,” Harris said. “You learn how unbelievably lucky you are to be able to have a meal.”